News About Aspartame

A petition to add low calorie sweeteners such as aspartame to flavored dairy products has generated lots of misinformation on-line and in the media. The petition from the International Dairy Foods Association and National Milk Producers Federation, if granted by the FDA, could result in the sugar in products like chocolate milk being replaced by low calorie alternatives. The sweeteners used would be listed in the ingredients panel, as is the case for all food and beverage products which contain them.

Replacing sugar with aspartame has the potential to reduce significantly the calorie content of drinks, such as flavored milk, which are popular with children. Children consume more sweetened than plain milk, so this initiative provides the opportunity to reduce the sugar added to flavored milk without removing the sweet taste that gets them to drink the milk, an important source of calcium.

The low calorie sweetener aspartame is made from two amino acids (building blocks of protein). These amino acids occur in almost all protein containing foods, in significant quantities.

Low calorie sweeteners, including aspartame, have been shown to be helpful in reducing energy intake, a consideration for all who wish to maintain or lose weight. For people with diabetes, aspartame can play an important role in a healthy regime, as it provides the sweet taste that people enjoy without impacting blood glucose or insulin levels.

One of the key risk factors for Type-2 diabetes is being overweight, and studies have shown that reduction of even a small percentage of overall body weight can significantly reduce that risk. Scientific reviews of the usefulness of aspartame for weight-reduction have shown that significant results can be achieved, for example by swapping caloric beverages for aspartame-sweetened drinks.
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